10 Best Clipping Software for Gaming Streamers in 2026 (ranked by FPS impact)

By

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April 19, 2026

The best clipping software for gaming in 2026 is Eklipse for active streamers (0% FPS impact, cloud-based), NVIDIA ShadowPlay for offline PC players with NVIDIA hardware (<5% FPS drop), and Xbox Game Bar for anyone who wants something free with zero setup. What actually works for you depends on one question most comparison lists never ask: are you a streamer, an offline PC gamer, or a console player?

Most clipping software articles hand you a list of 10 tools and call it done. What they skip is the part that actually matters: the right clipping software for an offline PC gamer is completely different from the right tool for someone streaming to Twitch. Recommending ShadowPlay to a PS5 streamer is useless. Recommending Eklipse to someone who games offline is equally pointless.

This guide splits the comparison by how you actually play. Find your category first, then read the tools that apply to you.

Key Takeaways

Eklipse processes clips in the cloud after your stream ends — 0% FPS impact, works on Twitch, Kick, and YouTube
NVIDIA ShadowPlay uses GPU encoding, so the FPS hit is under 5% — best for offline PC gaming on NVIDIA hardware
Medal.tv carries 8-12% RAM overhead but builds in a social sharing layer for PC gamers
Xbox Game Bar is free, built into Windows 10/11, and uses roughly 2-3% CPU — the no-setup option for casual clips
OBS Studio records locally with 0% GPU impact if you use NVENC encoding, but requires setup and eats CPU at default settings
Console players (PS5, Xbox Series X) can use Eklipse via their stream VOD — no PC software needed

Table of Contents

Which type of gamer are you? (Choose your path)

Before picking a tool, figure out which category you are in. This changes the entire recommendation.

Offline PC gamer

You play on PC and do not stream to Twitch, Kick, or YouTube. You want to record a clip instantly when something good happens — a clutch play, a sick mechanic, a funny moment. You need software running locally on your machine while you game. The FPS hit is what matters most.

Go to: Best clipping software for offline PC gaming

Active streamer

You broadcast to Twitch, Kick, or YouTube Live. After a session, you want clips without spending 2 hours scrubbing a 5-hour VOD. You need a tool that processes the stream footage automatically — ideally while you sleep. FPS during the stream is a separate concern from the clipping tool.

Go to: Best clipping software for streamers

Console player

You play on PS5 or Xbox Series X. Local PC recording software does not help you. Your options are the built-in share tools on the console itself, or a cloud tool that pulls clips from your stream VOD.

Go to: Best clipping software for console players

Best clipping software for streamers (Twitch, Kick, YouTube)

If you stream live, your clipping problem is a VOD problem. The stream already happened. You have a 4-hour recording somewhere on Twitch’s servers and you need to find the 30 seconds worth posting without watching all 4 hours yourself.

Local recording software does not solve this. ShadowPlay cannot clip moments you already streamed. What you need is a tool that connects to your VOD and does the scanning for you.

1. Eklipse — best overall for streamers (0% FPS impact)

FPS impact	0% (cloud-based, no local software)
Free plan	Yes (720p, watermarked)
Platform support	Twitch, Kick, YouTube
Trustpilot	4.2/5 from 899 verified reviews (April 2026)

Eklipse connects to your Twitch, Kick, or YouTube account. When your stream ends, the AI scans the VOD for highlight moments — kills, clutch plays, squad wipes, chat spikes — and returns a timestamped list of clips. You review, edit in Eklipse Studio, export vertical, and post.

The FPS impact is 0% because nothing runs on your machine during the stream. All processing happens in the cloud after the session ends.

Automatic highlight detection is available on all plans, including free. The free plan clips are 720p with a watermark; Premium unlocks 1080p, removes the watermark, and adds priority processing.

One feature that shows up consistently in reviews: Voice Command. You say “Clip It” during a live session and Eklipse marks that moment in the queue. No hotkey, no interrupting the stream.

The honest limitations: AI detection accuracy is highest for FPS and battle royale games. For Just Chatting, strategy games, and IRL streams, automatic detection misses more than it catches — manual marking and Voice Command are more reliable in those cases. Customer support response times are also slower than ideal; free-tier processing queues during peak hours.

Best for: Active streamers on Twitch, Kick, or YouTube — especially FPS and battle royale (Valorant, CoD, Apex, Fortnite). Streamers who post to TikTok or YouTube Shorts and need vertical clips without editing from scratch.

Not for: Offline PC gamers (Eklipse requires a live VOD URL from a streaming platform). Streamers who need clips within 30 minutes of their stream ending on the free plan.

If you stream on Kick, Eklipse is one of the only tools that supports it — the Kick highlight tool connects the same way Twitch does.

2. OBS Studio — best free option for streamers who also record locally

FPS impact	2-5% with NVENC hardware encoding (15-20% CPU at default settings)
Free plan	Yes (completely free, open source)
Platform support	All platforms (records locally; stream to any platform)
Watermark	None

OBS Studio is the standard for streamers who want full control. You stream and record simultaneously — the local recording file gives you the source material for clipping.

The trade-off: OBS requires setup. Default software encoding (x264) uses 15-20% CPU, which causes frame drops on lower-end systems. Switching to NVENC (NVIDIA) or AMF (AMD) hardware encoding drops the CPU hit significantly and keeps FPS stable.

OBS does not auto-detect highlights. After your stream, you scrub the local recording file yourself or use a third-party tool. If you already use OBS for streaming and want zero extra cost, it is a solid recording layer. If you want clips found automatically, pair it with Eklipse (Eklipse can pull from your Twitch/YouTube stream VOD while OBS records locally for backup).

Best for: Streamers who want full control over their recording setup, prefer local files, or need a customizable production stack.

Best clipping software for offline PC gaming

Offline means no streaming platform is involved. You are recording moments directly from your desktop while you play. The critical variable is how much the recording software hurts your frame rate.

3. NVIDIA ShadowPlay (NVIDIA GeForce Experience) — best for NVIDIA GPU owners

FPS impact	<5% (GPU hardware encoder)
Free plan	Yes (free with NVIDIA GPU — included in GeForce Experience)
Platform support	PC only (NVIDIA GPU required)
Watermark	None

ShadowPlay is built into NVIDIA GeForce Experience and uses the GPU’s NVENC encoder instead of the CPU. That keeps the FPS hit under 5% on most systems — often less noticeable than typical GPU load variation during normal gameplay.

The Shadow mode is the standout feature. ShadowPlay constantly buffers the last X minutes of gameplay (you set it from 1-20 minutes). When something happens, you hit Alt+F10 and the previous 5 minutes (or whatever you configured) are saved as a clip. No need to be recording when the moment happens — it already was.

Alex streams Valorant five days a week and clips manually for his TikTok. For a year he used OBS and spent 45 minutes every night going through footage. When he switched to ShadowPlay’s Instant Replay mode, he started hitting Alt+F10 right after a clutch round and had the clip ready in under a minute. He posts 3x more often now because the friction is gone.

ShadowPlay requires an NVIDIA GPU. AMD users see below.

Best for: Offline PC gamers with NVIDIA GPU who want low-overhead recording with Instant Replay. The go-to for competitive games where FPS matters.

4. AMD Adrenalin ReLive — best for AMD GPU owners

FPS impact	5-8% (hardware encoder)
Free plan	Yes (free with AMD GPU, included in Adrenalin software)
Platform support	PC only (AMD GPU required)
Watermark	None

AMD’s equivalent to ShadowPlay. If your system runs an AMD GPU, ReLive uses AMD’s hardware encoder to minimize FPS impact. The same Instant Replay concept applies — it buffers recent gameplay so you can save after the fact.

Performance is slightly heavier than ShadowPlay on comparable hardware, but the difference is rarely noticeable in practice. The software occasionally gets a bad reputation for update issues, but the core clipping function is reliable.

Best for: AMD GPU owners who want a free, GPU-accelerated recording option without installing third-party software.

5. Medal.tv — best for social sharing and community clips

FPS impact	8-12% RAM overhead during recording
Free plan	Yes (unlimited local clips)
Platform support	PC only (desktop recording)
Watermark	None (free plan)

Medal is aimed at the social side of gaming clips. The tool records automatically in the background, detects potential highlights, and makes sharing clips to the Medal community or to Discord a one-click action.

The tradeoff is RAM. Medal uses 8-12% RAM overhead while running — noticeable on 8GB systems, negligible on 16GB or more. If you game at 8GB RAM and run other background processes, Medal can cause stutters in memory-intensive titles.

For competitive players who push for maximum frame rates (240Hz setups, low-latency builds), that overhead is worth tracking. For casual players with headroom, it is usually invisible.

Best for: PC gamers who want automatic clip detection locally and a social layer for sharing with friends. Not for competitive players optimizing every frame.

6. Xbox Game Bar — best free built-in option (Windows 10/11)

FPS impact	~2-3% CPU overhead
Free plan	Yes (completely free, built into Windows)
Platform support	PC only (Windows 10/11)
Watermark	None

Xbox Game Bar (Win+G) is already on your machine if you run Windows 10 or 11. Press Win+Alt+R to start recording. CPU overhead is low — roughly 2-3% on average — because it uses hardware encoding through Windows’s built-in media stack.

Quality tops out at 1080p 60fps. No background buffer; you have to start recording before the moment happens. No AI detection. No community features.

What it has going for it: zero setup, no installation, no account. If you want a clip of something and do not want to install anything, Xbox Game Bar is already there.

Best for: Casual PC gamers who want a quick clip tool without installing new software. Good starting point before committing to a dedicated tool.

7. Outplayed by Overwolf — best for automatic local highlighting

FPS impact	5-10% (varies by game)
Free plan	Yes (limited storage)
Platform support	PC only
Watermark	No (free tier)

Outplayed integrates with game APIs (for supported titles) to detect kill-feed events locally. It clips automatically without you pressing a button — similar to what Eklipse does for streamers, but running locally on PC.

The game support list is broad (over 2,000 games), and the integration quality varies. For well-supported titles like CS2, League of Legends, and Valorant, it works reliably. For less popular titles, accuracy drops.

Overwolf as a platform runs additional background processes, which compounds the system overhead if you have other Overwolf apps installed.

Best for: Offline PC gamers who want automatic detection without streaming. Good secondary option if ShadowPlay or ReLive do not cover your game with enough accuracy.

Best clipping software for console players

Console players face a fundamental constraint: local recording software does not exist for PS5 or Xbox the way it does for PC. Your options are the native share tools built into the console, or a cloud tool connected to your stream VOD.

8. Eklipse (via console stream) — best for PS5/Xbox streamers

FPS impact	0% (cloud-based)
Free plan	Yes
Platform support	PS5, Xbox (requires streaming to Twitch, Kick, or YouTube)

If you stream your PS5 or Xbox gameplay to Twitch, Kick, or YouTube, Eklipse works the same way it does for PC streamers. The console streams to the platform; Eklipse pulls from the VOD and returns clips automatically. The Eklipse console streaming feature connects natively.

No capture card. No PC required. The one requirement is that your console session needs to be streamed live — Eklipse cannot clip console footage that was never broadcast.

Best for: Console players who stream their sessions and want automatic clips without a capture card or PC setup.

9. Xbox Game DVR (Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One)

FPS impact	Minimal (hardware-accelerated)
Free plan	Yes (built-in)
Platform support	Xbox consoles only

The Xbox button and then “Capture screenshot” or the dedicated Share button on Xbox Series X opens Game DVR. You can capture the last 30 seconds, 1 minute, or up to 10 minutes. Clips save to internal storage and sync to Xbox Game Pass cloud or export via the Xbox mobile app.

No streaming required. Works for offline console sessions.

Best for: Xbox players who want quick clips from offline sessions without a streaming platform or third-party app.

10. PS5 built-in capture

FPS impact	Minimal (hardware-accelerated)
Free plan	Yes (built-in)
Platform support	PS5 only

The Create button on the DualSense controller opens Sony’s built-in capture interface. Auto-capture can save the last 15 minutes of gameplay, or you can set it to clip manually. Clips export to a USB drive or upload to a linked YouTube account.

No streaming required. Works for offline PS5 sessions.

Best for: PS5 players who want offline clips without any additional software or streaming requirement.

FPS impact comparison table

Tool	FPS impact	System req	Free plan	Watermark	Works offline	Works via stream VOD
Eklipse	0% (cloud)	Any	Yes (720p)	Yes (free tier)	No	Yes
NVIDIA ShadowPlay	<5%	NVIDIA GPU	Yes	No	Yes	No
AMD ReLive	5-8%	AMD GPU	Yes	No	Yes	No
Xbox Game Bar	~2-3% CPU	Windows 10/11	Yes	No	Yes	No
OBS Studio	2-5% (NVENC) / 15-20% (CPU)	Any	Yes	No	Yes	No
Medal.tv	8-12% RAM	PC desktop	Yes	No	Yes	No
Outplayed	5-10%	PC desktop	Yes (limited)	No	Yes	No
Xbox DVR	Minimal	Xbox console	Yes	No	Yes	No
PS5 Capture	Minimal	PS5	Yes	No	Yes	No

Note on Eklipse: The 0% FPS impact applies during your stream — Eklipse does not run on your machine while you play. Processing happens in the cloud after the session ends. The trade-off is a dependency on a streaming platform. Eklipse cannot clip sessions that were not streamed live.

How to choose clipping software (decision guide)

Use Eklipse if

You stream to Twitch, Kick, or YouTube
You want clips found automatically without scrubbing VODs
You want to post TikTok or YouTube Shorts without editing from scratch
You play FPS or battle royale games (Valorant, CoD, Apex, Fortnite — AI detection accuracy is highest for kill-feed events)
You game on console and already stream your sessions

Use ShadowPlay if

You play on PC with an NVIDIA GPU
You do not stream and record locally
FPS is critical — you play at 144Hz or higher in competitive games
You want Instant Replay (clip after the moment, no pre-recording required)

Use OBS Studio if

You stream and want a local file backup
You want full control over your recording quality and output
You already use OBS for broadcasting and do not want a second tool

Use Medal if

You play on PC and want automatic local detection
You want easy sharing to Discord or a social community
Your system has 16GB+ RAM (the overhead is more noticeable on 8GB)

Use Xbox Game Bar if

You want something that is already installed, free, and low-effort
You do not need AI detection or automatic clipping
You make clips occasionally, not regularly

Use console built-ins (Xbox DVR / PS5 Capture) if

You play on console and do not stream
You want offline clips without any third-party setup

Frequently asked questions

Does clipping software affect FPS?

It depends on the tool and whether it runs locally. Local software like OBS (software encoding), Medal, and Outplayed add measurable CPU or RAM overhead. Hardware-accelerated tools like ShadowPlay and AMD ReLive keep the FPS hit under 5%. Cloud tools like Eklipse have 0% FPS impact during your stream — processing happens after the session ends, not during it.

What clipping software do streamers use?

Most active streamers who post clips regularly use Eklipse for automatic VOD clipping, often alongside OBS for local recording. ShadowPlay is common among PC-only streamers who also play offline. Medal is popular for its social sharing features. The tools are not mutually exclusive — many streamers run OBS for broadcasting and Eklipse for clip detection.

What is the best free clipping software with no watermark?

NVIDIA ShadowPlay, AMD ReLive, Xbox Game Bar, OBS Studio, and Medal all offer free plans with no watermark. Eklipse’s free plan includes a watermark on exported clips; Premium removes it. If you want zero watermark at no cost and game on PC, ShadowPlay or Medal are the cleanest options for offline play. For streamers, OBS records locally with no watermark at no cost.

Is Eklipse free?

Yes. Eklipse’s free plan processes your Twitch, Kick, or YouTube VODs and returns clips with AI detection. Free clips are 720p with a watermark. There is no per-session clip limit — you can clip every stream on the free plan. The paid plan ($19.99/month or $149.99/year) removes the watermark, upgrades to 1080p, and adds priority processing during peak hours.

Can you use clipping software on console?

Not in the same way as PC. PS5 and Xbox have built-in capture tools that record offline sessions. For automatic AI clipping, console players need to stream their gameplay to Twitch, Kick, or YouTube first, then use Eklipse to process the VOD. The Eklipse console feature is built for this workflow.

What clipping software works with Kick?

Kick is a newer platform and most clipping tools have not added support. Eklipse supports Kick natively — you connect your Kick account and clip your Kick VODs the same way you would on Twitch. Medal, ShadowPlay, and other local PC tools record your desktop regardless of platform, but they cannot pull automatically from your Kick stream after it ends.

Is Eklipse better than Medal for gaming clips?

For streamers, yes. Eklipse processes your stream VOD automatically and has 0% FPS impact during the session. Medal runs locally on your PC, uses 8-12% RAM while active, and does not connect to streaming platform VODs. For offline PC gamers who do not stream at all, Medal is the better choice — Eklipse cannot clip sessions that were not broadcast live. For a more detailed breakdown, see how Eklipse compares to StreamLadder for a comparison of the broader streaming clip tool category.

The bottom line

Clipping software for gaming is not a one-answer question. The best tool depends entirely on how you play.

If you stream on Twitch, Kick, or YouTube and your problem is spending two hours finding clips after every session — Eklipse solves that directly. Automatic detection, 0% FPS impact, vertical format exports for TikTok. The free plan is a real working product with no clip cap per session.

If you game offline on PC and want instant clips with minimal impact on your frame rate — ShadowPlay (NVIDIA GPU) or AMD ReLive (AMD GPU) are the right tools. Both are free and built into the software you likely already have.

If you are on console — use the built-in share tools for offline sessions. Stream your sessions and use Eklipse if you want automatic clipping after the fact.

Pick the tool that matches how you actually play, not the one that ranks first on a generic list.

Try Eklipse free — no credit card required. Connect your stream account and your next session’s clips will be waiting when you wake up.

Eklipse.gg Review Compilation (2026): What Do Streamers Actually Say?

By

Eklipse.gg Team

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April 5, 2026

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Table of Contents

Eklipse.gg review: what 900+ streamers actually think (2026)

TL;DR

Eklipse holds a 4.2/5 rating on Trustpilot from 900+ verified streamers — one of the highest scores in the AI clipping category
Strongest for FPS and battle royale streamers: Valorant, CoD, Apex, and Fortnite all get high detection accuracy
Sign-up is free, but clipping is paid: Premium runs $24.99/month or $179.99/year (about $14.99/month) with 1080p and no watermark
Verdict: worth it for active streamers posting to TikTok or YouTube Shorts. Not ideal for Just Chatting or strategy game content

Eklipse has a 4.2/5 rating on Trustpilot based on 899 verified reviews as of April 2026. That puts it well above the category average for AI clipping software.

But a number on a review site only tells you so much.

You are probably here because you want to know whether the tool actually delivers — or whether that rating comes from people who signed up, posted once, and left a five-star review before running into the real limitations.

This is the honest version. We pulled the feedback that shows up repeatedly: the stuff that makes streamers renew every year, and the stuff that makes them cancel. Both matter if you are deciding whether to use Eklipse.

Eklipse rating summary

Platform	Score	Reviews
Trustpilot	4.2 / 5	899 verified
G2	4.1 / 5	80+ reviews
Product Hunt	4.3 / 5	120+ votes

These scores come from independent platforms. Eklipse cannot remove or filter reviews on Trustpilot or G2. The 4.2 average reflects the full distribution, including the negative reviews covered below.

What Eklipse actually does

Eklipse connects to your Twitch, Kick, or YouTube VOD. After your stream ends, the AI scans the footage and timestamps the moments most likely to perform as short clips: kills, clutch plays, squad wipes, multi-kills, and chat spikes.

You get a list of detected clips, each with a preview. From there you can edit in Eklipse Studio, add captions and templates, export in vertical format for TikTok or YouTube Shorts, and schedule posting through the Content Publisher.

The whole workflow runs in the cloud. Zero FPS impact during your stream. No recording software to install.

That is the pitch. Here is how it holds up.

What streamers praise (pros from verified reviews)

These themes appear most frequently across 4- and 5-star Trustpilot and G2 reviews.

Voice Command is the standout feature for live streamers

The ability to say “Clip It” during a stream and have Eklipse mark that moment keeps coming up in positive reviews. No hotkey to fumble with mid-fight. No interrupting the stream to manually clip.

“The voice command is genuinely useful. I say ‘clip that’ after a big play and it’s just there in my dashboard when the stream ends.” — Trustpilot review, March 2026

The Voice Command feature is available on all plans, including free.

AI detection accuracy is high for FPS and battle royale games

Valorant, Call of Duty, Apex Legends, and Fortnite reviewers consistently report that Eklipse catches the moments that matter without pulling in dead footage. The model is trained on kill feed events and discrete action moments — exactly what FPS games produce.

“I stream Valorant 5 days a week. Eklipse gets 80 to 90% of the clips I’d actually want to post. That used to take me 2 hours to find manually.” — G2 review, February 2026

Time savings are real and specific

The most common benefit cited is not “it’s faster” in a vague sense. Streamers who were scrubbing through 4- to 8-hour VODs report cutting that to under 15 minutes of clip review time.

“I went from spending 3 hours after each stream to literally 10 minutes. I just review the clips Eklipse found and post the ones I like.” — Trustpilot review, January 2026

Clips you can post straight away

Reviewers point out that the clips come out ready to post, with no credit limit per session on Premium. Older reviews praising a watermarked 720p free plan describe a tier that no longer exists: Eklipse is now fully paid.

What streamers criticize (cons from verified reviews)

Customer support is the most-cited complaint

This is the number one recurring theme in 1- and 2-star reviews: slow response times through Discord, unhelpful bot responses, and no live support. If something breaks and you need a fix quickly, expect to wait.

“The product works but if you have an issue the support is really slow. I had a processing error for 3 days before someone looked at it.” — Trustpilot review, March 2026

Eklipse expanded its Discord community team in Q1 2026, but response time is still hours to days, not minutes.

Processing queues during peak hours

If you stream during popular evenings or weekends, your VOD may sit in a processing queue for several hours before clips are ready.

Not a deal-breaker if same-day posting is not part of your workflow. Worth knowing if it is.

AI accuracy drops for non-action game genres

Eklipse’s detection is optimized for kill-feed events. For Just Chatting, strategy games, IRL streams, and MOBA content that is not kill-heavy, automatic detection misses more than it catches.

For these content types, manual clip marking and Voice Command are more reliable than fully automated detection.

No free plan anymore

Many of the reviews above were written when Eklipse had a free 720p, watermarked tier. That tier is gone. Creating an account is still free, and the standalone browser tools on eklipse.gg need no account at all, but AI clipping requires Premium.

Eklipse pricing

Plan	Price	What you get
Premium	$24.99/month	1080p, no watermark, priority processing, full Eklipse Studio
Annual	$179.99/year (~$14.99/month)	Same as Premium — saves ~40% vs. monthly billing
6 months	$112.99 every 6 months	Same as Premium

The annual plan saves $120 compared to 12 months of monthly billing ($299.88). If you stream consistently, the math is direct.

See the full breakdown on the Eklipse pricing help article.

Who Eklipse is best for (and not for)

It fits your workflow if:

You stream FPS or battle royale games on Twitch or Kick (Valorant, CoD, Apex, Fortnite, Marvel Rivals, CS2)
You want clips ready without reviewing footage manually after every session
You post to TikTok or YouTube Shorts and need vertical, formatted clips
You stream 3+ hours per session and have no interest in scrubbing VODs
You want to start posting clips before committing to a paid subscription

It is not the right fit if:

You primarily stream Just Chatting, strategy games, or content without kill-feed events
You need same-day clips from free-tier processing
You require live support with fast response times
You game offline without a streaming platform — Eklipse requires a VOD URL from Twitch, Kick, or YouTube

Eklipse vs. the competition

Feature	Eklipse	Medal.tv	StreamLadder
AI auto-detection	Yes, cloud-based	Yes, runs locally	No, manual only
FPS impact during stream	0% (cloud)	8-12% (local)	N/A
Platform support	Twitch, Kick, YouTube	PC desktop only	Twitch only
Kick support	Yes	No	No
Free plan	No (free sign-up, paid clipping)	Yes (unlimited local clips)	Yes (limited features)
Watermark on free	N/A (no free plan)	No	Yes
TikTok editor	Yes (Eklipse Studio)	Basic trim only	Yes
Voice Command	Yes	No	No

One note on older third-party reviews of Eklipse, including StreamLadder’s: they describe free-plan limits such as “three lifetime credits.” Eklipse no longer has a free plan at all, so any free-tier comparison you read elsewhere is out of date.

For a full side-by-side, see how Eklipse compares to StreamLadder.

Frequently asked questions

Is Eklipse actually free?

No. Creating an account is free, but clipping is paid: Premium costs $24.99/month, $112.99 for 6 months, or $179.99/year (about $14.99/month). The standalone browser tools on eklipse.gg are free and need no account.

Does Eklipse work for console streamers?

Yes, for any console setup that streams to Twitch or Kick. Eklipse connects to the stream VOD, not the capture device — so PS5 and Xbox users who stream live can use it the same way PC streamers do. Eklipse also has a dedicated console streaming feature for native support.

How accurate is Eklipse’s AI at detecting highlights?

Detection accuracy is highest for FPS and battle royale games with clear kill-feed events: Valorant, CoD, Apex, Fortnite, and similar titles consistently produce 80-90% usable clip rates based on user feedback. For strategy games, Just Chatting, and IRL streams, auto-detection is less reliable. Voice Command is a better approach for those content types. More detail on how AI highlight detection works.

Is Eklipse better than Medal for gaming clips?

It depends on how you play. Medal records locally on your PC — no streaming platform required, but it uses 8-12% of system resources while running. Eklipse processes in the cloud after your stream ends — zero FPS impact while you play, but requires a live VOD from Twitch, Kick, or YouTube. For streamers, Eklipse is the stronger fit. For offline players who do not stream, Medal is the better choice.

Does Eklipse affect FPS or game performance?

No. Eklipse runs entirely in the cloud after your stream ends. It does not install software on your PC and has no interaction with your system while you are playing. The only resource it uses is your VOD upload bandwidth after the session is over.

Verdict

Eklipse earns its 4.2/5 rating. For FPS and battle royale streamers who want clips without scrubbing VODs — and who post regularly to TikTok or YouTube Shorts — it does what it says.

The Voice Command feature is genuinely useful. The time savings are specific and consistent across hundreds of reviews.

The honest caveats: support is slow, and processing queues build up during peak hours. Those are real limitations, not edge cases. They are not deal-breakers for most streamers, but they matter if you depend on same-day turnaround or need quick help when something breaks.

If you stream action games on Twitch or Kick and you are not posting clips because the manual process takes too long, Eklipse solves that problem directly.

Try Eklipse free

— no credit card required.

MonkaS & MonkaW Explained: Decoding Twitch’s Most Nervous Emotes

By

Eklipse.gg Team

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February 12, 2026

0

If you’ve ever stepped into a popular Twitch stream during a high-stakes match, you’ve likely seen the chat mutate from words into a wall of green, sweating frogs.

If you are new to the platform, this is confusing. Why is everyone posting a nervous cartoon frog? Is the streamer in trouble?

Welcome to the deep end of Twitch culture. You are seeing “MonkaS,” one of the most widely used emotes to convey tension, anxiety, and high-pressure situations. But it doesn’t stop there—there is a whole family of these emotes, including its loud cousin, MonkaW.

Here is a breakdown of what these emotes mean, where they came from, and why chat spams them during the most intense moments of a broadcast.

Table of Contents

The Origin Story: Pepe and BTTV

First things first: You won’t find MonkaS in the standard Twitch emote menu.

MonkaS, like many of the most popular emotes on the platform (like PogChamp’s many variants or Pepega), is based on Pepe the Frog, a comic character created by Matt Furie that became an internet meme staple.

To see MonkaS in chat, you need browser extensions like BetterTTV (BTTV) or FrankerFaceZ (FFZ). These third-party tools allow streamers to upload custom emotes that their community can use, vastly expanding the visual vocabulary of Twitch chat.

MonkaS first appeared on 4chan around 2011 but was uploaded to BTTV in 2016, forever changing how chat reacts to pressure.

What Does MonkaS Mean?

Visual: A drawing of Pepe the Frog looking straight ahead with bulging eyes and beads of sweat pouring down his forehead.

Meaning: MonkaS is the universal Twitch symbol for anxiety, nervousness, or high-stakes tension.

It is used when the outcome of a situation is uncertain and the pressure is on. You will rarely see MonkaS used during casual gameplay. Instead, chat saves it for truly intense moments.

Common examples of MonkaS usage:

When a streamer is the last player alive in a competitive shooter (like Valorant or CS:GO) and has to clutch the round against multiple enemies.
When a speedrunner is on a world-record pace and approaching the hardest part of the game.
When a streamer is about to open a high-value loot box or gamble a large amount of in-game currency.
When the streamer is telling a risky story that might get them in trouble with Twitch Terms of Service (TOS).

What Does MonkaW Mean?

Visual: A highly zoomed-in version of MonkaS, focusing entirely on the sweaty forehead and terrified eyes.

Meaning: Panic. Sheer panic.

The “W” in Twitch emote variants usually stands for “Wide” or indicates a zoomed-in perspective. If MonkaS is nervousness, MonkaW is the alarm bell. It’s used when the situation has gone past tense and straight into terrifying or chaotic territory. It’s the visual equivalent of screaming.

You use MonkaW when the “intense moment” peaks—like when the streamer gets jump-scared in a horror game or immediately after they lose that crucial clutch round in heartbreaking fashion.

The Wider “Monka” Family

Twitch culture never settles on just one version of a meme. The “Monka” naming convention has spawned various other emotes to describe specific types of stress:

monkaGIGA: A gigantic version of the sweating frog for overwhelming pressure.
monkaHmm: Pepe thinking suspiciously, used when chat thinks the streamer is lying or something doesn’t add up.
monkaTOS: Specific anxiety that the streamer is about to break Twitch rules and get banned.

Turning Intense Moments into Content

Chat uses MonkaS because they feel the tension radiating from the streamer. For a content creator, those high-pressure situations are gold mines. The moments that make chat sweat are usually the moments that make for viral clips on TikTok or YouTube Shorts.

But as a streamer, you might be live for eight hours. Finding those 30 seconds of peak intensity where you screamed, clutched a round, or got jump-scared can take hours of re-watching your own VODs.

This is where Eklipse steps in.

Eklipse AI is designed to recognize the same things chat recognizes. Our AI scans your stream VODs and identifies intense audio cues—sudden spikes in volume, shouting, high-action game sounds, or terrified screams during a horror playthrough.

Just as chat instinctively spams MonkaW when things get crazy, Eklipse automatically detects those intense moments and clips them for you, ready to be edited into vertical format and shared instantly.

Don’t let your best MonkaS moments disappear into the VOD abyss. Let Eklipse find them for you.

What Does KEKW Mean on Twitch? The Story Behind the Laugh

By

Eklipse.gg Team

-

February 10, 2026

0

You are watching a stream. The streamer makes a bad joke, misses a jump, or simply bursts into laughter. Suddenly, the chat explodes. It’s not “LOL,” it’s not “LMAO,” and it’s not even the classic “LUL.”

It’s a wall of KEKW.

If you are new to Twitch, this grainy, wheezing face might look confusing. But in the streaming world, KEKW is the king of laughter. Here is everything you need to know about the emote, the legend behind the face, and why it took over the internet.

Table of Contents

The Meaning: Pure, Hysterical Laughter

Simply put, KEKW represents hysterical laughter. It is used when something is so funny that “LOL” just doesn’t cut it. It is the visual equivalent of a wheezing, uncontrollable laugh.

On Twitch, it is often used in two scenarios:

Genuine Comedy: The streamer did something hilarious.
Mockery: The streamer made a stupid mistake, and chat is laughing at them (in a friendly way… usually).

The Origin: The Legend of “El Risitas”

The face behind the emote belongs to Juan Joya Borja, a Spanish comedian and actor better known as “El Risitas” (The Giggles).

The image comes from a 2007 interview on a Spanish variety show called Ratones Coloraos. In the clip, Borja tells a story about leaving paella pans in the ocean to clean them, only to find the tide had washed them away. As he tells the story, he breaks down into his signature, high-pitched wheezing laugh.

That laugh was infectious. Years later, the internet rediscovered the clip. People started adding fake subtitles to the video—making it look like he was laughing about everything from Apple MacBooks to video game developers.

How it hit Twitch: Around late 2019, the emote was added to FrankerFaceZ (FFZ) and BetterTTV (BTTV), the popular browser extensions that add custom emotes to Twitch. It was popularized by communities like xQc and AdmiralBulldog, eventually dethroning “LUL” and “LULW” as the go-to laugh emote.

Wait, What Does “KEK” Mean?

To understand the name, we have to go back to World of Warcraft.

In WoW, if a Horde player types “LOL” in chat, Alliance players see it translated as “KEK”. It’s a reference to the Korean onomatopoeia for laughter (“kekeke”).

KEK = LOL (in Orcish/Gamer slang)
W = Widen/Zoom (Standard Twitch naming convention for exaggerated emotes)

So, KEKW literally means “LOL, but zoomed in and exaggerated.”

Don’t Miss the Laughter

When your chat starts spamming KEKW, it usually means you just created a “clip-worthy” moment. High chat velocity and specific emote spikes are the best indicators of viral content.

But you can’t stop playing to clip every funny moment manually.

This is where Eklipse helps. Our AI technology monitors your chat in real-time. When it detects a spike in “KEKW,” “LUL,” or laughter, it automatically captures that segment, crops it to vertical, and generates captions—so you can post that hilarious moment to TikTok before you even finish your stream.

Turn Chat Spam into Viral Content

When chat spams KEKW, you know it’s gold. Eklipse AI automatically detects high-laughter moments and clips them for you instantly.

Auto-Clip Funny Moments →

What Does ‘o7’ Mean on Twitch? The Digital Salute Explained

By

Eklipse.gg Team

-

February 10, 2026

0

If you have spent more than five minutes in a Twitch chat, you have probably seen it. A wall of text scrolling by, filled with a single, two-character code: o7.

It’s not a typo. It’s not a bot error. It is one of the oldest and most respectful traditions in gaming culture.

If you are new to the streaming world, don’t worry. In this guide, we will break down exactly what o7 means, where it came from, and how to capture the legendary moments that make people type it.

Table of Contents

The Meaning: Look Closer

The definition of o7 is visual, not textual. It is an emoticon that represents a person saluting.

o = The head
7 = The arm and hand bent in a military salute

Unlike standard Twitch emotes (like Kappa or PogChamp) that require an image to load, o7 is universal. It works on Discord, YouTube, Twitter, and even in old-school text messages. It is the universal sign of respect, solidarity, or saying goodbye.

The Origin Story: Commanders in Space

While the exact origin is debated, internet historians generally agree that o7 was popularized by the player base of EVE Online and Elite Dangerous.

In these massive space simulation games, players act as “Commanders.” Because the games rely heavily on text communication, players needed a quick way to greet fellow pilots or wish them luck before a dangerous warp jump. Typing “Safe travels, Commander” takes too long. Typing “o7” takes a fraction of a second.

From the depths of space, the salute migrated to Reddit, then to League of Legends, and finally became a staple of Twitch culture.

When Should You Use o7?

Context is key. You don’t just throw out a salute for no reason. Here are the three main scenarios where an o7 is appropriate:

1. The Goodbye (Signing Off) When a streamer ends their broadcast and says, “Alright guys, I’m heading out,” the chat will instinctively spam o7. It is the polite way to thank the streamer for the entertainment and wish them a good night.

2. The Ultimate Sacrifice (In-Game) Did a teammate jump in front of a bullet to save the streamer? Did an NPC character die a tragic death in a story game? Drop an o7 to pay your respects. It is the modern equivalent of “Press F to Pay Respects.”

3. The Clutch (or The Valiant Fail) Sometimes, a streamer tries something impossible. Whether they pull off a 1v5 clutch or die trying in a blaze of glory, an o7 shows that you respect the effort.

Don’t Let Your ‘o7’ Moments Disappear

Usually, when chat starts spamming o7, something memorable has just happened. It might be a heartfelt goodbye, a hilarious in-game death, or a victory against all odds.

As a streamer, these are the moments you need to save. But if you are busy playing, you can’t hit the clip button every time chat reacts.

This is where Eklipse helps. Our AI analyzes your stream in real-time. It detects high-intensity moments, funny reactions, and even victories automatically. While your chat is typing o7, Eklipse is already working in the background to clip that moment, crop it to vertical, and get it ready for TikTok.

Best OBS Studio Settings for Streaming: The Ultimate x264 Guide

By

Eklipse.gg Team

-

February 10, 2026

0

You have the skills, the overlay, and the personality. But if your stream looks like a pixelated mess from 2005, viewers won’t stay.

Finding the best OBS settings is a balancing act between quality and performance. While many modern guides focus heavily on NVIDIA’s NVENC encoder, the x264 (CPU) encoder remains the gold standard for pure visual fidelity—if your rig can handle it.

Whether you are running a dual-PC setup or have a beastly CPU like a Ryzen 9 or Intel i9, this guide will break down the ultimate x264 configuration for a crisp, professional broadcast.

Perfect stream settings deserve perfect clips. Once you fix your quality, you need a way to share those high-res moments instantly. We’ll get to that later.

Table of Contents

Step 1: The “Output” Tab (Switch to Advanced)

First, open Settings > Output. Change the “Output Mode” from Simple to Advanced. This unlocks the granular control you need.

Encoder: x264
Rescale Output: Unchecked (Do your scaling in the “Video” tab to save resources).

Step 2: Rate Control & Bitrate (The Most Critical Step)

This determines how much data you send to Twitch or YouTube.

Rate Control: CBR (Constant Bitrate). Never use VBR for streaming; it causes instability.
Bitrate:
- For 1080p 60fps: 6000 Kbps (Twitch limit) or 8000+ Kbps (YouTube).
- For 720p 60fps: 4500 Kbps.
Keyframe Interval: 2 s. (This is non-negotiable. Twitch requires a 2-second keyframe).

Step 3: CPU Usage Preset (Quality vs. Lag)

This setting tells OBS how hard to work your CPU to compress the video.

slower = Better quality, higher CPU usage.
faster = Lower quality, lower CPU usage.

The Sweet Spot: veryfast or faster. Unless you have a dedicated streaming PC, going slower than “fast” yields diminishing returns on visual quality while tanking your frame rate.

Profile: High
Tune: None (or “Film” for realistic games, “Animation” for 2D games).

Step 4: The “Video” Tab

This is where you define your resolution.

Base (Canvas) Resolution: Set this to your monitor’s resolution (usually 1920×1080).
Output (Scaled) Resolution:
- Use 1920×1080 if you have a strong connection.
- Use 1664×936 (936p) for a sharp “hack” that looks better than 720p but requires less bitrate than 1080p.
Downscale Filter: Lanczos (Sharpened scaling, 36 samples).
Common FPS Values: 60.

Why Your VODs Matter More Than Ever

Now that you have dialed in the best OBS settings, your VODs (Video on Demand) will be crystal clear. This is crucial because your VODs are the raw material for your growth engine.

Pixelated streams result in blurry TikToks. High-quality streams result in viral content.

Instead of letting that high-quality footage sit in your Twitch archive gathering dust, use Eklipse to repurpose it automatically.

Your Stream Looks Great. Now Make it Viral.

Don’t let your 1080p stream disappear. Eklipse AI automatically captures your best moments and turns them into high-quality TikToks & Shorts instantly.

Get High-Quality Clips Free →

How to Make $1,000/Month Reposting Game Clips

By

Eklipse.gg Team

-

February 10, 2026

0

You don’t need to be a pro player like Faker or an entertainer like IShowSpeed to make serious money in the gaming industry. In fact, some of the highest-earning channels on TikTok and YouTube Shorts today are “Cash Cow” channels—accounts that curate and repost viral moments from top games.

The concept is simple: Millions of gamers don’t have time to watch 6-hour streams. They want the best 60 seconds. If you can provide that value, you can get paid.

In this guide, we will break down the exact strategy to build a reposting empire and hit that $1,000/month milestone, powered by AI automation.

Table of Contents

Step 1: The “Cash Cow” Model Explained

How exactly do you get paid? It’s not just about views; it’s about Monetization Programs.

TikTok Creativity Program: Pays creators for videos over 1 minute long with high engagement. Gaming clips are perfect for this if edited correctly.
YouTube Shorts Fund & Ad Revenue: Shorts are exploding. Consistent uploads (3-5 per day) can rack up millions of views quickly.
Affiliate Marketing: Put links to gaming gear, VPNs, or energy drinks in your bio.

Step 2: Choose Your Niche (Don’t Be Boring)

“General Gaming” is too broad. To go viral, you need a specific angle.

The Fail Compilation: Helldivers 2 funny deaths or Elden Ring rage moments.
The Pro Play: High-IQ plays from Valorant or CS2 tournaments.
The Storyteller: Lore explanations or “Did you know?” facts about GTA VI.

Step 3: The Content Engine (The Eklipse Secret)

Here is where most people fail: Burnout. Manually watching streams, downloading VODs, cutting clips, and adding captions takes hours. You cannot scale a business if you are editing frame-by-frame.

The Solution: Use Eklipse AI to Automate Content Eklipse is the ultimate tool for Cash Cow creators because it solves the volume problem.

Paste & Process: Simply paste a link to a Twitch or YouTube stream (your own or one you have permission to use).
AI Detection: Eklipse automatically identifies the most engaging moments (Triple Kills, Funny Laughs, High Intensity).
Auto-Edit: It instantly crops the video to vertical (9:16) and adds viral-style captions.
Download: You get 10-20 ready-to-post clips from a single stream in minutes.

Note: Always respect copyright. Add commentary, transformative editing, or get permission from streamers to ensure your content falls under Fair Use or authorized reposting.

Step 4: The Posting Schedule

Volume is king. To hit $1,000/month, you need to trigger the algorithm.

TikTok: Post 3x per day (Morning, Lunch, Evening).
Shorts: Repost the same TikToks to YouTube Shorts.
Instagram Reels: Repost again.

With Eklipse, you can schedule these posts directly from the dashboard, turning a 2-hour workflow into a 15-minute task.

Start Your Empire Today!

The opportunity is open right now. Games like Black Ops 6 and GTA VI are creating massive demand for clips. You can either watch others make money from it, or you can start your own channel today.

Ready to Build Your Content Empire?

Don’t let manual editing slow down your earnings. Generate unlimited viral clips automatically and grow your channel faster with Eklipse AI.

Start for Free →

How to Watch & Download Sub-Only VODs on Twitch

By

Eklipse.gg Team

-

February 10, 2026

0

You missed the live stream. You rush to the channel to catch the replay, only to be hit with a purple screen: “Subscribe to watch this video.”

It is one of the most frustrating experiences on Twitch. Whether you are a broke student, a casual viewer, or a content creator studying gameplay, being locked out of a VOD (Video on Demand) feels like hitting a brick wall.

While Twitch allows streamers to lock their archives behind a paywall to encourage subscriptions, there are ways to access this content for personal viewing. In this guide, we will show you how to download and watch Sub-Only VODs without installing shady software on your PC.

Table of Contents

The Problem: The “Subscriber-Only” Wall

Twitch partners and affiliates can toggle a setting that makes their past broadcasts accessible only to active subscribers. While this supports the creator, it is a nightmare for:

Clip Channels: Who need footage to create compilations.
Coaches/Analysts: Who need to review gameplay.
Casual Fans: Who simply missed the notification.

You might have tried searching for “Twitch VOD Bypass” scripts on GitHub, but those often require coding knowledge or stop working after a Twitch API update. There is a safer, cloud-based way.

Method 1: The Eklipse VOD Downloader (Safe & Easy)

The fastest way to watch a restricted VOD is to download it. Once the file is on your device, the subscription lock no longer applies.

Eklipse offers a powerful VOD processing tool that fetches stream data directly from Twitch servers. Unlike sketchy browser extensions that might steal your cookies, Eklipse is a verified cloud tool used by over 1 million creators.

Why use Eklipse?

No Installation: It runs in your browser (Chrome/Edge/Mobile).
Safe: No need to mess with “Inspector Element” or scripts.
High Quality: Downloads the source quality (1080p60fps).

Step-by-Step Guide:

Copy the Link: Go to the Twitch channel and copy the link of the locked VOD.
Go to Eklipse: Log in to your Eklipse Dashboard.
Paste & Process: Paste the Twitch URL into the “Get Clips” or “Downloader” section.
Download: Eklipse will fetch the video data. You can then download the full video or let our AI automatically cut it into TikTok-ready highlights.

(Note: While Eklipse is powerful, always respect the creator’s copyright. Download VODs for personal viewing or fair-use content creation only.)

Method 2: The Technical Route (TwitchRecover/GitHub)

If you are comfortable with command lines and installing third-party executable files, the open-source community has developed tools like TwitchRecover.

How it works: It attempts to find the unmuted .m3u8 playlist file of the VOD from Twitch’s backend servers.
The Downside: Twitch frequently patches these exploits. A tool that works today might be broken tomorrow. Furthermore, downloading .exe files from unknown GitHub repositories always carries a security risk.

Verdict: Unless you are a developer, stick to cloud-based solutions like Eklipse to avoid malware and headaches.

Don’t Let a Paywall Stop You

Content is meant to be watched. Whether you are catching up on lore or analyzing a pro player’s rotation, you shouldn’t be blocked by a sub-wall for a stream that happened 12 hours ago.

Ready to grab that VOD? Stop searching for complex scripts and use the tool built for gamers.

Best Recording Settings for Arc Raiders (Fix Lag & Stuttering)

By

Eklipse.gg Team

-

January 25, 2026

0

Struggling with FPS drops, black screens, or crashes while recording Arc Raiders? Here is the ultimate guide to optimizing your Arc Raiders recording settings and switching to a lightweight clipping solution.

Arc Raiders is a visually stunning extraction shooter, but it’s also demanding on your hardware. If you are trying to record your gameplay using local software like OBS, Medal, or Nvidia Shadowplay, you might be experiencing significant performance issues. Finding the right Arc Raiders recording settings is crucial to maintaining high frame rates while capturing crisp footage of your extractions.

Common Arc Raiders Recording Issues reported by players:

FPS Stuttering: The game freezes or drops frames during intense firefights.
Black Screen: OBS captures audio but shows a black screen for the game feed.
Game Crashing: Running recording software alongside the game causes Arc Raiders to crash to the desktop.

The root cause? Local recording software eats up valuable CPU and GPU resources that Arc Raiders desperately needs to run smoothly. The solution isn’t just lowering your game settings—it’s changing how you record.

Table of Contents

The Fix: Switch to Cloud-Based Clipping (Zero FPS Drop)

Instead of forcing your PC to render the game AND record the video simultaneously, use a cloud-based clipper like Eklipse. By connecting your Twitch or YouTube stream to Eklipse, the recording happens on our servers, not your rig.

Why this fixes Arc Raiders lag:

0% GPU Usage: Your graphics card focuses 100% on rendering Arc Raiders.
No Black Screens: Eklipse captures the stream feed directly, bypassing local hook issues.
Auto-Highlights: You don’t even need to hit a hotkey. Our AI detects intense moments and clips them for you.

Check out the Arc Raiders AI Clipper here.

Recommended Arc Raiders Graphic Settings for Visibility

Even with cloud clipping, optimizing your in-game settings ensures your recordings look crisp and enemies are easy to spot. Here are the best settings for a balance of performance and visibility:

Setting	Recommendation	Reason
Window Mode	Fullscreen	Prioritizes game resources and prevents OBS capture bugs.
DLSS / FSR	Quality / Balanced	Boosts FPS significantly without making the image blurry.
Shadow Quality	Medium/Low	High shadows kill FPS and make enemies harder to see in dark corners.
Motion Blur	OFF	Essential for clarity. Blur makes clips look messy and hides targets.
V-Sync	OFF	Reduces input lag for snappier aiming.

How to Clip “Bugs & Glitches” for Dev Reports

Since Arc Raiders is still in active development, you will encounter bugs. Developers need video proof to fix them. Instead of constantly recording huge files, use Voice Command to clip bugs instantly.

Connect Eklipse: Link your stream account.
Enable Voice Command: In the Eklipse dashboard settings.
Trigger the Clip: When you see a glitch (or hit a crazy shot), just say “Clip That!” or “What the heck!”.
Instant Proof: Eklipse saves the last 60 seconds and sends it to your library, ready to be shared on Discord or Reddit.

Ready to record Arc Raiders without the lag?

Don’t let recording software ruin your extraction. Switch to Eklipse today and capture every loot run in 1080p without touching your PC’s performance. Start clipping for free!

Top 10 Best Clipping Software Ranked by Speed & FPS Impact (2026 Benchmarks)

By

Eklipse.gg Team

-

January 6, 2026

0

TL;DR
Q: What is the best clipping software for gaming?
A: For pure performance, Eklipse.gg ranks #1 with 0% hardware impact (cloud-based). For local recording, NVIDIA ShadowPlay is the most efficient (<5% FPS drop). Medal.tv offers great social features but consumes more RAM.

When you are pushing for 240Hz in competitive shooters like Valorant or Call of Duty, every single frame matters. Choosing the best clipping software for gaming is a mathematical decision. A poorly optimized recorder can eat up 15-20% of your CPU, causing micro-stutters that ruin your aim.

In 2026, efficiency is the only metric that counts. We have analyzed and ranked the top 10 clipping tools on the market, prioritizing FPS impact, CPU usage, and processing speed. Whether you need a tool that generates viral clips in 60 seconds or a recorder that runs invisibly in the background, this list provides the hard data you need to optimize your setup.

Table of Contents

Benchmark Data: Top 10 Software Compared

We ranked these tools from Lowest Impact (Best Performance) to Highest Impact.

Rank	Software	FPS Impact (Est.)	CPU/RAM Usage	Best For	Price
#1	Eklipse.gg	0% (None)	0% (Cloud)	Streamers (Auto-Clip)	Free / Premium
#2	NVIDIA ShadowPlay	~3-5%	Low (GPU Encoded)	NVIDIA Users	Free
#3	Action!	~4-6%	Low (Proprietary Codec)	High FPS Recording	$19.77 (Lifetime)
#4	OBS Studio	~5-10%	Medium (Highly Variable)	Full Control	Free ($0)
#5	Xbox Game Bar	~5-8%	Low-Medium	Windows Native	Free
#6	VideoProc	~8-12%	Medium (HW Accel)	Low-End PCs	$25.95/yr
#7	EaseUS RecExperts	~10-15%	Medium	Scheduled Recording	$19.95/mo
#8	HitPaw	~10-15%	Medium	Multiple Inputs	$9.99/mo
#9	Medal.tv	~10-20%	High (High RAM)	Social Sharing	Free / Premium
#10	Rav.ai	N/A	N/A (Post-Process)	Enterprise Editing	$2,000/yr

1. Eklipse.gg – The 0% Impact Champion

The Numbers: 0% CPU Usage | 1080p Quality | 10 Clips in 60 Seconds

Eklipse.gg takes the #1 spot for a logical reason: it bypasses your hardware entirely. Unlike local recorders that encode video while you play (stressing your PC), Eklipse connects to your Twitch, YouTube, or Kick stream. It processes the VOD on cloud servers after or during your stream.

Why it wins on specs:

0 FPS Drop: Your PC dedicates 100% of its resources to the game.
Automation Speed: AI detects kills and funny moments, generating vertical clips automatically.
Storage Saved: No massive video files clogging your SSD; everything is stored in the cloud.

Get 15 Free Clips Now

2. NVIDIA ShadowPlay – Best Local Efficiency

The Numbers: ~3% Performance Hit | Up to 8K Resolution

If you are an offline gamer (not streaming), ShadowPlay is the mathematical leader. It utilizes the dedicated NVENC encoder chip found on GTX and RTX cards. This chip is separate from the part of the GPU that renders your game, resulting in negligible performance loss.

Pros: “Instant Replay” buffers the last 5-20 minutes efficiently.
Cons: Zero editing automation. You must manually cut and format every file.

3. Action! – Best for High Refresh Rates

The Numbers: 120 FPS Recording | FICV Codec

Mirillis Action! is optimized for speed. It uses a proprietary video codec (FICV) designed to be lighter than standard H.264. It is one of the few recorders that can capture at 120 FPS or even 240 FPS, making it ideal for creating silky-smooth slow-motion montages.

Pros: Extremely low CPU overhead due to optimized code.
Cons: Paid software; the interface is dated.

4. OBS Studio – Best for Customization

The Numbers: $0 Cost | Unlimited Scenes

OBS is the industry standard, but it requires manual tuning. If configured correctly (using NVENC or AMF encoders), the impact is low (~5%). However, adding complex overlays or using the wrong settings (like x264 software encoding) can spike CPU usage to 20%+, causing massive lag.

Pros: Total control over bitrate and audio tracks.
Cons: High risk of user error affecting performance.

5. Xbox Game Bar – Best for Native Integration

Xbox Game Clips Recording — Source: thewincentral

The Numbers: Pre-installed on 100% of Windows PCs

The Xbox Game Bar is “always on” in Windows 10/11. Its “Record Last 30 Seconds” feature is convenient and reasonably efficient because it’s integrated into the OS kernel. However, it does run background services that consume a small amount of RAM constantly, even when you aren’t gaming.

Pros: No installation required.
Cons: Limited to 30-second or 5-minute buffers; basic quality options.

6. VideoProc – Best for Low-End Hardware

The Numbers: Level-3 Hardware Acceleration

VideoProc focuses on “Level-3 Hardware Acceleration,” utilizing Intel QSV, AMD, and NVIDIA tech to offload tasks. It is a solid choice for older laptops where CPU cycles are scarce. However, as an external app, it still has more overhead than ShadowPlay.

Pros: Good for non-gaming PCs.
Cons: Paid license required for full features.

7. EaseUS RecExperts – Best for Scheduled Capture

The Numbers: 4K UHD Support | Monthly Subscription

EaseUS is a general-purpose screen recorder with a “Game Mode.” While it produces high-quality 4K video, benchmarks show it consumes more system resources than dedicated gaming tools. It is better suited for recording tutorials than high-octane competitive gameplay.

8. HitPaw – Best for Multi-Device Inputs

The Numbers: 3 Simultaneous Inputs

HitPaw allows you to record your screen, webcam, and even an iOS device simultaneously. While impressive, processing three video streams in real-time takes a toll on your CPU. Expect a 10-15% FPS drop on mid-range machines.

9. Medal.tv – Best for Social (High Resource Usage)

The Numbers: 500MB+ RAM Usage | Electron Framework

Medal is incredibly popular for its social feed, but from a performance standpoint, it is heavy. It runs on the Electron framework (like a web browser), which is known for high RAM usage. On lower-end PCs with 8GB or 16GB of RAM, running Medal alongside a heavy game like Cyberpunk 2077 can cause stuttering.

Pros: One-click sharing and cloud syncing.
Cons: Heaviest background resource usage on this list.

10. Rav.ai – Best for Post-Production (Not Real-Time)

The Numbers: $2,000/year Entry Price

Rav.ai is not a real-time clipper but an automated editing service. It has N/A impact on your FPS because you upload files after you play. However, the “cost” here is time and money. It is designed for enterprise-level creators who need full video edits, not quick clips.

How to Choose Based on Specs (The Logic)

When looking at the numbers, apply this logic to your decision:

For Maximum FPS (Competitive): Use Eklipse (if you stream) or ShadowPlay (if you don’t). These offer the lowest mathematical impact on your system.
For Content Volume: Eklipse wins. It automates the extraction of clips, saving you ~10 hours of editing time per week.
For Social Features: Medal is great, but only if you have a high-end PC (32GB RAM recommended) to handle the overhead.

Frequently Asked Questions (Data & Specs)

Which software has the absolute lowest FPS drop?

Eklipse.gg technically has the lowest impact (0 FPS drop) because it processes the VOD from the streaming platform’s server, not your PC. Among local recorders, NVIDIA ShadowPlay is the most efficient (~3% impact).

Why does Medal.tv make my game lag?

Medal.tv uses the Electron framework, which can be RAM-intensive. If your system runs out of RAM, it starts using the disk page file, causing significant in-game stutters.

Is 60FPS recording enough for TikTok?

Yes. While you may game at 144Hz or 240Hz, TikTok and Instagram Reels cap videos at 60FPS. Recording higher than 60FPS is only useful if you plan to use slow-motion effects.

Final Verdict: The Numbers Don’t Lie

If you want to protect your frame rate in 2026, the data points to a clear winner:

The Efficiency King: Eklipse.gg. By offloading the processing to the cloud, it guarantees 0% hardware usage while you play.
The Local Standard: NVIDIA ShadowPlay. The best option for offline recording with minimal impact.

Stop sacrificing frames for content. Switch to the most efficient workflow today.

Get 15 Free Clips Now with Eklipse!

EklipseBlog

Which type of gamer are you? (Choose your path)

Offline PC gamer

Active streamer

Console player

Best clipping software for streamers (Twitch, Kick, YouTube)

1. Eklipse — best overall for streamers (0% FPS impact)

2. OBS Studio — best free option for streamers who also record locally

Best clipping software for offline PC gaming

3. NVIDIA ShadowPlay (NVIDIA GeForce Experience) — best for NVIDIA GPU owners

4. AMD Adrenalin ReLive — best for AMD GPU owners

5. Medal.tv — best for social sharing and community clips

6. Xbox Game Bar — best free built-in option (Windows 10/11)

7. Outplayed by Overwolf — best for automatic local highlighting

Best clipping software for console players

8. Eklipse (via console stream) — best for PS5/Xbox streamers

9. Xbox Game DVR (Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One)

10. PS5 built-in capture

FPS impact comparison table

How to choose clipping software (decision guide)

Use Eklipse if

Use ShadowPlay if

Use OBS Studio if

Use Medal if

Use Xbox Game Bar if

Use console built-ins (Xbox DVR / PS5 Capture) if

Frequently asked questions

Does clipping software affect FPS?

What clipping software do streamers use?

What is the best free clipping software with no watermark?

Is Eklipse free?

Can you use clipping software on console?

What clipping software works with Kick?

Is Eklipse better than Medal for gaming clips?

The bottom line

Eklipse.gg review: what 900+ streamers actually think (2026)

Eklipse rating summary

What Eklipse actually does

What streamers praise (pros from verified reviews)

Voice Command is the standout feature for live streamers

AI detection accuracy is high for FPS and battle royale games

Time savings are real and specific

Clips you can post straight away

What streamers criticize (cons from verified reviews)

Customer support is the most-cited complaint

Processing queues during peak hours

AI accuracy drops for non-action game genres

No free plan anymore

Eklipse pricing

Who Eklipse is best for (and not for)

It fits your workflow if:

It is not the right fit if:

Eklipse vs. the competition

Frequently asked questions

Is Eklipse actually free?

Does Eklipse work for console streamers?

How accurate is Eklipse’s AI at detecting highlights?

Is Eklipse better than Medal for gaming clips?

Does Eklipse affect FPS or game performance?

Verdict

The Origin Story: Pepe and BTTV

What Does MonkaS Mean?

What Does MonkaW Mean?

The Wider “Monka” Family

Turning Intense Moments into Content

The Meaning: Pure, Hysterical Laughter

The Origin: The Legend of “El Risitas”

Wait, What Does “KEK” Mean?

Don’t Miss the Laughter

Turn Chat Spam into Viral Content

The Meaning: Look Closer

The Origin Story: Commanders in Space

When Should You Use o7?

Don’t Let Your ‘o7’ Moments Disappear

Step 1: The “Output” Tab (Switch to Advanced)

Step 2: Rate Control & Bitrate (The Most Critical Step)

Step 3: CPU Usage Preset (Quality vs. Lag)

Step 4: The “Video” Tab

Why Your VODs Matter More Than Ever

Your Stream Looks Great. Now Make it Viral.